Brown-outs July 18, 2011

[Bigb23]

Look for a power regulator or surge suppressor with brownout protection [[or better yet, a UPS) from APC, Furman, or Panamax. You're going to pay between $60 and $150 for good quality power conditioner. It's a lot compared to $20, but buying a new TV, stereo and computer will cost a lot more.

Thanks - I've done all that and more. There comes a time where you just sit down and shut yourself off for the year. Nobody should have to be a licensed Master electrician to maintain their household.

[mwilbert]

It gets hot in the burbs, and efficient AC units on interruptible circuits kick on.

It gets hot in the 'hood, and multiple window units per house kick on [[because a central unit has a large up front cost).

If you check, I believe you will find that window units are generally more efficient per BTU than central units. Your point about interruptable loads is valid, although I don't know how widespread those are.

I expect that the main problem is that the electrical infrastructure in much of the city and inner suburbs is older and not built for the level of electrical use you see today.

[East Detroit]

Remember the Northeast Blackout of 2003?

Did we ever update the electrical grid? Or did we spend all our money on foreign wars and foreign products?

[JBMcB]

Remember the Northeast Blackout of 2003?

Did we ever update the electrical grid? Or did we spend all our money on foreign wars and foreign products?

I read an article in Popular Science [[or Mechanics?) about the blackout a few years ago. The gist was that they knew what caused it, but aren't sure how to fix it. It has to do with how demand and capacity is communicated and balanced around different regions. A robust, distributed system is required, and needs to be specially tailored for each region. It's an extraordinarily complex problem.

[Bigb23]

I just know that I'm with a 10" color set as compared to 38" color set. DTE can fry the best of products.

[Bigb23]

Another cry for help.

We are among the thousands without power in the northeast. Day four actually, and we've decided to look into generators so that next year's New Year's doesn't involve fears of frozen pipes bursting and hypothermic babies and cats. At the very least we just need enough juice to run the furnace blower, but if we're going to lay down the cash I'd like to know what it would take to get a little more power ... like enough to run a fridge, router, laptop and lightbulb. I know nothing about this sort of thing, but figure there are more than a few experts out there so I call out to the wisdom of the mob. What am I looking for? How difficult is the wiring? What will it cost me? On the extreme edge, what would it take to get off the grid entirely? [[And on a side note, thanks to DTE Energy for telling us we had power when we didn't, for losing the ticket for our neighborhood, for telling us it would be back every single day when it wasn't, and for the helpful DTE representative who warned us that our pipes might burst. Thanks.)

http://ask.slashdot.org/story/08/12/...ed-My-Holidays

[Bigb23]

router

Okay??????

[Bigb23]

A monopoly that has a no bid contract over six million people. And the watchdog is in their pocket. Whoopee!

http://www.michigan.gov/mpsc/0,1607,...377---,00.html

[Vox]

Whoo hoo, power back on after 18 hrs and 20 min.

January, power out for 22 hrs.

December, power out for 3 1/2 days. And so on and so on and so on. Our utilities are 95% underground, so I don't know how that little weather sneeze we had up here affected things.

Now to treat myself to a generator I really shouldn't need. I never put away my big bowl of batteries, candles, and flashlights from last year.

I'd explore this link.

http://www.dteenergy.com/residential...er/claims.html

That being said, why the hell didnt you unplug your stuff to begin with in a brownout is beyond me. And you don't have brownout or spike protection on your power strips if it damaged your TV.

[Bigb23]

That being said, why the hell didnt you unplug your stuff to begin with in a brownout is beyond me. And you don't have brownout or spike protection on your power strips if it damaged your TV.

Well, I didn't mention all of the power outages over a year, that last from two to ten minutes. If I ran around pulling and plugging, it would be a full time job. There is something quirky about the power in this neighborhood. I used to chalk it up to new home construction and subdivisions. That theory is now out the door.

I have used as many UPS, and surge protectors as financially possible. Game over.

[MikeM]

For BigB23 - food for thought:

http://www.candgnews.com/news/dte-sl...-repairs-woods

According to DTE officials, after seven outages on that circuit in 2005 and 2006, DTE replaced about 1,200 feet of small overhead primary with larger wire in the area of the circuit cable pole at Mack and Anita. In addition, two transformers were installed around Anita and Goethe to improve voltage, and a new primary and new transformers were installed in the area of Hampton and Charlevoix to accomplish the same goal. DTE performed pole-top maintenance in 2007 and completed tree trimming in 2008. The utility reportedly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair and upgrade the aged system.

However, although the number of power failures in most segments of the city declined, part of the city continued to suffer from frequent and sometimes long outages. After repeated requests for answers from city officials, City Council member Vicki Granger said DTE officials investigated the matter and discovered that they hadn’t finished the job they started four years ago. Because of a change in the utility’s reporting system, additional steps that supposedly would have addressed outages on this circuit weren’t taken, and no one noticed the omission, she said.

[Bigb23]

What gives now? Just a gentle rain - and my power will be out in a major area around here for at least 24 hours. Can't DTE just WATERPROOF their equipment???

At least now I have a generator to fire up in an hour or two.

[Scottathew]

What gives now? Just a gentle rain - and my power will be out in a major area around here for at least 24 hours. Can't DTE just WATERPROOF their equipment???

At least now I have a generator to fire up in an hour or two.

It's been very windy too, at least it was in Warren.

[Mikeg]

What gives now? Just a gentle rain - and my power will be out in a major area around here for at least 24 hours. Can't DTE just WATERPROOF their equipment???

At least now I have a generator to fire up in an hour or two.

According to my rain gauge, we had 2.25 inches of rain overnight here in Shelby Twp.

[MikeM]

NOUS43 KDTX 201525
PNSDTX
MIZ047>049-053>055-060>063-068>070-075-076-082-083-DDHHMM-

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DETROIT/PONTIAC MI
1120 AM EDT THU OCT 20 2011

THE FOLLOWING ARE SOME PEAK WIND GUSTS REPORTED TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
TODAY...AS OF 1120 AM...

SAGINAW 56 MPH 601 PM...
PORT HOPE 56 MPH 947 PM...
PONTIAC 43 MPH 1210 AM...
FLINT 40 MPH 1258 AM...
ANN ARBOR 36 MPH 1032 PM...
YPSILANTI 36 MPH 1103 PM...
DETROIT METRO AIRPORT 35 MPH 1055 PM...
DETROIT CITY AIRPORT 35 MPH 804 PM...
ADRIAN 35 MPH 1019 PM...

$$


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